Viewpoint: Where does Islam fit the issue of violence?

The attacks in Paris again raise the question on where does Islam fit in the question of violence. The link between Islam to violence is inevitable since the suspects of the Paris attacks were Muslims and affiliated with the ultraviolent group that is explicitly “Islamic” in its name and political ideology — i.e. ISIL or Daesh.

In September 2014, the chief spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Muhammad al-Adnani, called on Muslims in western countries such as France and Canada to perform “jihad” attacks in their countries. He reiterated his message in March, calling on “homegrown jihadists” to blow up the White House in Washington, Big Ben in London, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

To some of us who do not bother to distinguish radical Islamists with ordinary Muslims living in our societies, all Muslims are extremists. The expression of Islam and Muslim identities such as wearing niqab in public or shouting “Allahu akbar” (God is great) are a legitimate source of suspicion. The escalation of anti-Muslim sentiments, such as the attack of a mosque in Peterborough, or the threat to “kill one Muslim a week” in Canada exemplifies that a backlash is seen as logical and justified.

The Qur’an, the main source of Islamic faith, does contain texts that justify violence. It details regulations regarding the conduct of war, such as who is to fight and who is exempted; when hostility must cease; how prisoner should be treated; and how to maintain peace. The Qur’anic concept of “jihad” that is often understood as the basis of armed struggle has a primary religious significance to lead a good life. In other words, although the Qur’an justifies the use of violence, it does not command or condone illegitimate violence or terrorism.

Islam is not the only religious tradition that justifies the use of violence. Other religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism have complex relationship to war, violence and militancy. The idea of the “holy war” and “just war,” which recognizes the use of violence, is found in almost all religious traditions.

That there were pacifist individuals such Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King who promoted the religious ethic of non-violent does not change the historical facts that the religious traditions they represented have an ambiguous relationship with the use of violence. Furthermore, non-religious ideologies such as Marxism-Leninism, Nazism, atheism, state ideologies and corporatism have led to far greater crimes against humanity than what jihadists have done.

So why is Islam at the centre of attention again? Islamic militancy such as ISIL, al-Qaida and Boko Haram did not occur in vacuum. Like many other Islamist movements that emerged in the 20th century, these radical movements are the product of western interventions, military rule and the issues of occupation in places where Muslims lived.

Much of their motivations are driven by politics, such as the issue of self-determination and disputes over lands, rather than theology. When these mundane political and economic goals are cloaked in religious narrative, the entire organization is given a religious dimension. Accommodation and peaceful compromise are seen as heresy and a violation of God’s law.

In this case, there is no reason to disagree that ISIL’s atrocities is as Islamic as the Ku Klux Klan’s brutality against African Americans was Christian.

We must have the ability to reflect on the question of Islam and violence beyond the fallacy constructed by the political discourse that Islam is inherently violent or most terrorists are Muslims. The tragedies in Paris (and Beirut) could transform us to work on the ideal values we all share — that is, universal love and justice for all, more than to learn that religiously justified violence is part of our common heritages.

Halim is a faculty member in religious studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

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